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Airplane cargo & bed bugs?
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feelingitchy
newbite
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 4
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Apr 15 2008 20:31:49
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Do you think you can get bed bugs from checked luggage touching each other?? Am freaked out about getting them traveling- I am staying at a friend's place
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TomIsBugged
junior member
Joined: Mar '08
Posts: 46
Posted 1 year ago
Tue Apr 15 2008 22:20:08
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I wouldn't put it past 'em... Maybe putting a cond, err, clear vacuum bag around the luggage would bring a bit of peace of mind?
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Hi,
Yes it is possible but to put it into perspective the last figure I heard quoted was 1 in every 100,000 suitcases traveling through Australia in 2001/2002 was carrying Bed Bugs (source Stephen Doggett).
To reduce this risk to as close to zero as possible there are two things you can do:
1 Saran wrap / cling film your bags when you check into the airport and remove the protective layer at the baggage reclaim at your destination.
2 I have found there to be fewer places for Bed Bugs to locate on hard shell type suitcases so swapping to them can be a good move as well.
Any time people are concentrated together like this there will be a risk of Bed Bugs being transmitted. For most of us it is impractical to stop traveling so we have to learn how to "travelwise".
David
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lieutenantdan
oldtimer
Joined: Apr '07
Posts: 1,146
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 16 2008 11:26:16
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I bought heavy plastic like suitcases from Filene's Basement. These suitcases leave little for a bed bug to hide and because they are plastic I can clean and steam them. They seem to come in bright colors and I think are made in England.
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People have reported seeing luggage wrapped in plastic wrap at airport carrels, although I haven't seen it recently. Can that work with today's security procedures? For flights originating in the United States, you have to use approved locks that the TSA can access, otherwise they might break the lock to inspect its contents. Would security permit a bag wrapped in plastic to go through without suspicion. Wouldn't they just tear off the plastic?
I mean, I might go to the trouble of doing it, as long as security wouldn't immediately undo my efforts.
Several months back, I took a trip to Turkey and, at Istanbul, they search each and every single piece of checked luggage departing internationally. I guess you could bring a roll of plastic wrap to the airport and ask if you could wrap it after the inspection ... just wondering how feasible this piece of advice is.
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Hi,
I have not been internationally travelling for about 18 months beyond hand luggage but have seen wrapped bags in airports around Europe, they also have machines that offer it as a service at airports to "protect" bags from scrathes and damage.
I know a number of people who have reported that thier wrapped bags were not stopped en route to and from the US but they did say that placing a sign saying wrapped to protect from bed bugs may have helped.
I am happy to make a Bed Bug Beware .JPG that people can print and seal into the outside of the luggage if it would get used.
David
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I agree with David.
Bed bugs can potentially travel from bag to bag in a luggage area or the luggage area might become infested, but it is not likely to be a high probability event given the large number of bags that pass through the system on a daily basis.
I would recommend switching to a hard sided style of luggage with good weather seals.
The type of plastic luggage that Lt Dan described sounds like a good choice.
Lt Dan, Does the luggage you bought have a cloth liner on the interior of the suitcase? I am looking to acquire a plastic or metal suitcase, but I am looking for one that does not have any lining.
Maybe we should add some suitable hard sided luggage to the "Shop For Useful Stuff" page.
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Itchybutdealing
member
Joined: Apr '08
Posts: 132
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 16 2008 13:36:52
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Duffle bags that are easy to wash and throw in drier are also a good option.
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I noticed that Cooper is now selling a permethrin based insecticide spray that is labeled for luggage on his website.
Here is a link for JT Eaton's Rest Easy Bed Bug Luggage Spray.
http://www.bedbugcentral.com/store/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=18&idproduct=38 -
Thank you for the feedback. Machines that dispense protective plastic for luggage! That sounds very cool.
Luggage recommendations would be nice addition to the useful stuff page. I picked up some plastic polycarbonate luggage at a discount wholesaler a few years ago. The manufacturer is Heys. It was inexpensive. It's very lightweight and there's no fabric-on-the-exterior issue. But it's not ideal, because it has zippers and a cloth liner.
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parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 16 2008 14:08:04
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Great suggestions here, particularly about not having luggage with liners. I once oddly found a bedbug hidden UNDER the lining of a CD case. They like to hide and are crafty at finding those hard-to-see locations.
The only suggestion I can add is that I travel with ziplocks. When I travel, everything inside my suitcase is sealed in ziplocks. (Makes me rather organized, too). This way I know that even if bedbugs get into my suitcase, at least they can't get into my clothes. When I get home, it makes inspection easier.
PS: While I agree the chance of getting bedbugs from a plane's baggage hold might be small, are luggage is also faced with an even higher chance of exposure to bedbugs in hotel baggage rooms, hotel luggage carts, in rental car or cab trunks--and all the other potentially bedbug-infested places along the journey.
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Bugologist
member
Joined: Nov '07
Posts: 174
Posted 1 year ago
Wed Apr 16 2008 15:16:20
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I was going to mention Rest Easy Luggage Spray but Doug already beat me there. It's permethrin based. Think of it as a repellent you would spray on your clothes when you go out in the woods, only this one is labeled for luggage.
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Have to just say I am more of a fan of physical prevention measures than sprays. I have never heard of a Bed Bug defeating 3 or 4 layers of pallet wrap and trust me London has some very rough neighborhoods, the ones in Brixton have been known to mug PCO's for their treatment fees.
If you don't use chemicals as a preventative its got to be better for the environment and will not promote further resistances developing. The more widespread the use of chemicals the greater the evolutionary pressure is to develop resistance, its one of Darwin's base theories.
David
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fightorflight
senior member
Joined: Jan '08
Posts: 692
Posted 1 year ago
Sat Apr 19 2008 3:22:15
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Questions -
Does that JT Eaton's spray really work to keep bugs out of your luggage?
Parakeets - I intend to put everything in Ziplocs, too, whenever I travel again. But what do you do about your luggage when you get home?
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parakeets
oldtimer
Joined: Mar '07
Posts: 866
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Apr 24 2008 16:11:10
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To answer fightorflight--when I get home from a trip I take all the ziplocks out of the suitcase as quickly as possible (sometimes when I'm still outside) and then I put the suitcase itself in a ziplock bag! I'm not kidding, my suitcase was small enough to fit inside the very largest ziplock bag. This way I know if there were any bedbugs, they can't get out, and no bedbugs from my house can get into the ziplock'd suitcase. I'm afraid of both getting bedbugs and spreading them. My infestation is light at this point and I might do something different if it were very heavy (like not travel!)
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prayforamiracle
member
Joined: Apr '08
Posts: 244
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Apr 24 2008 16:12:38
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What about eevn sitting on the plane seats????
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prayforamiracle
member
Joined: Apr '08
Posts: 244
Posted 1 year ago
Thu Apr 24 2008 16:24:05
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Maybe contact amazon for an add on this site.
They have lots of hard luguage at discounted prices.
http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=15743281I have an old samsonite hard shell, that i was going to throw away, now I realize it is the best.
I just put it in the tub, wash it down and then spray it with KLEEN. Alcohol. Use plastic bags inside. -
bump!!
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